April 5, 2013


Vanilla Ice to Justin Bieber: "You Have to Learn Your Purpose"

Getty Images, 2
Getty Images, 2

Vanilla Ice—I'm sorry, Robert Van Winkle—was recently interviewed by GQ (for real!), and he had a few words of wisdom for the lately wayward Justin Bieber

Bieber's caught some flack in the press as of late for a series of public missteps. You know, his neighbor accused him of battery, his new pet monkey was quarantined in Germany and he might have just given an illegal tattoo to his friend. Whoopsie daisy!

Vanilla Ice knows what it's like to be young and super famous. His 1990 smash "Ice Ice Baby" went platinum when the rapper was just 23 years old. He feels Justin's pain. "I've known [Bieber] for a while," Ice said. "He's a good kid and he's got great people around him. The bad thing is, they're not always going to be around. There's a transition from being a kid to being an adult, and he's never had that. Concerts every night, autograph signings, endorsements, and so on. That's not what real life is about."

"I don't think Justin's listening to too many people these days," he continued. "He's gotta learn his purpose. When the snow globe that's been rattled up his whole life settles, it's 'Where am I as an adult?' and 'Where do I fit in?' It happened to me. I had a weekend that lasted a few years [laughs] and I had to figure out my purpose."

But Ice isn't too worried. "If [Bieber] hits the paparazzi, that's gonna be on the news tonight. If he releases a new record, I don't know. And you have to pay for that advertisement! He'll be alright. He's got some stuff to go through. Hopefully he won't go too far."

Vanilla Ice: surprising pillar of reasonable life advice. Who knew?